#2052· Sjtsjel1
Soviet locomotive class shch-el-1
🇷🇺 Soviet Union ·built by Kirov Plant· from 1924· Russia's first diesel locomotive
6 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Экспонаты Музея железных дорог России в СПб 97: Anastasiya Lvova· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 2. DieselLoco first: Sergey Nemanov ( Photocity )· CC BY-SA 2.5
- 3. Russian locomotive class shch-el-1 2014-09 1411309641: Artyom Svetlov· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 4. Russian locomotive class shch-el-1 2014-09 1411309684: Artyom Svetlov· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 5. Saint Petersburg. Russian Railway Museum. Diesel locomotive Shch-EL-1 P7212917 2200: Alexxx1979· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. Shch-el-1 Russian Railway Museum: Harveyqs· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The shch-el-1 (Cyrillic script: Щэл1) was the Soviet Union's first diesel locomotive. It was designed by Yakov Modestovich Gakkel and built by the Putilov Plant and the Baltic Shipyard in Petrograd (St. Petersburg, Russia).
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 102 years ago, in 1924.
- 768 kW is about 9 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Served for 3 years (1924–1927).
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1924
- in service from
- 1924
- retired
- 1927
- status
- preserved
- number built
- 1
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇷🇺 Soviet Union
- builders
- Kirov Plant, Baltic Shipyard
- operators
- Soviet Railways
- top speed
- 75 km/h
- power
- 768 kW
- gauge
- 1,520 mm Russian broad gauge
- wheel arrangement
- (1Co)+Do+(Co1)
- Dutch name
- Sjtsjel1
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q2382850, Wikipedia: Soviet locomotive class shch-el-1 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.